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F1: Davidson should have Aguri race drive

By LJ Hutchins

Fears that F1’s most cash-strapped team might not even make it as far as the Melbourne grid seem to have been allayed – for the time being.

And that’s good news for British driver Anthony Davidson, who is still waiting to sign a contract for 2008.

The former Honda tester and his Japanese team-mate Takuma Sato have been sitting out a period in which their Honda-backed team had to cancel appearances at testing sessions during January earlier this month.

There have also been many reports of team principal Suzuki Aguri’s work to find new sources of finance, including the ubiquitous unnamed Russian and Indian investors.

But now the team has reportedly been in talks to find out how committed Honda is to the team’s future – and apparently the news was good.

And Fumito Akita, a business partner of Aguri’s, confirmed that the team will be able to make the start line, also blaming the cancelled tests on a shortage of parts.

Aguri told the BBC: “Obviously any sponsors or investors who leave the infrastructure there and back the team to improve results would be ideal.

“How much any potential stake in the team would be does depend on the conditions the investor has. But even if it’s a 100 per cent stake you can’t sensibly get rid of the team per se.

“If you have no Aguri Suzuki you would probably lose Honda as engine suppliers. If investors come in and say they can bring in BMW engines that’s a different story.

“But even if we give up the 100% share it doesn’t necessarily mean the owner or the team name goes with it.”